Hula Post Production provided equipment, facilities and support to the editorial team of Nightcrawler, the new thriller from director Dan Gilroy and Open Road Films. Services supplied to editor John Gilroy and his crew included Avid DX editing systems, Avid Unity storage, editorial suites on the Los Angeles Westside and round-the-clock technical support for a postproduction schedule spanning eight months.
Produced by Bold Film, Nightcrawler is the story of a man (Jake Gyllenhaal) who becomes embroiled in the L.A. crime scene while working as a freelance journalist. The film also stars Renee Russo, Bill Paxton and Riz Ahmed.
Gilroy, whose previous credits include Pacific Rim, Warrior, Salt and Michael Clayton and who is the twin brother of the director, described Nightcrawler as a dark, anxious, riveting story that required a taut, aggressive style of editing. “I approached it the way I do any film,” he said. “I tune into the director and the script and find the best movie I can. Danny’s film required controlled chaos. It was fun.”
Gilroy takes particular satisfaction in a montage sequence in which Gyllenhaal’s character, Lou, records a home invasion burglary and then sells the footage to a television news producer played by Russo. “There is a lot going on in that scene,” Gilroy recalled. “There is the invasion footage itself, the people in the control room and Lou watching it all. It captures the complexity of the situation. I’m really happy with that scene.”
Gilroy was also pleased with his experience at Hula. “It was an incredibly comfortable, secure environment,” he said. “The people were very helpful in setting us up and accommodating our needs. Whatever we needed, we got. It was fun to go to work every day.”
Gilroy’s crew included assistant editor Kevin Hickman, music editor Nick Ratner and production assistant Samara Kelly.
